Allardyce wants West Ham players to overcome Carroll absence

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insists his players must stand up and be counted now that loan striker Andy Carroll has been ruled out injured for a couple of weeks.
Allardyce said: "It depends on the likes of Carlton Cole and Modibo Maiga stepping in and doing the business, making sure we use the strength of the squad when we need to.

"We have only got two players injured at the moment, a lot of other teams in the Premier League have more. If that continues it will help for us to be more and more consistent.

"Andy Carroll has only played 68 minutes for us. We have conceded just three goals, all at Swansea, and kept clean sheets in the other games.

"It is not all about Andy, but it is about us trying to perform as a team again on Saturday against Sunderland."